Distinct BSRs and their implications for natural gas hydrate formation and distribution at the submarine Makran accretionary zone

To investigate the nature of gas hydrates in the Makran area,new high-resolution geophysical data were acquired between 2018-2019.The data collected comprise multibeam and two-dimensional multi-channel seismic reflection data.The multibeam bathymetry data show East-North-East(ENE)ridges,piggy-back basins,canyon and channel systems,and the morphology of the abyssal plain.Continuous and discontinuous bottom simulating reflectors(BSRs)occur in the piggy-back basins on most of the seismic profiles available.The BSRs cut the dipping layers with strong amplitude and reversed polarity.Discontinuous BSRs indicate a transition along a dipping high-permeable sand layers from gas-rich segment to the gas hydrate-bearing segment and sugge st alternating sediments of fine and relatively coarse grain size.Double BSRs are highly dynamic and attributed to slumps occurring in the study area.The BSRs induced by slumps are located both at deep and shallow depths,responding to the temperature or pressure variation.For the first time,BSRs are observed in the abyssal plain of the Makran area,being associated with anticline structures,which do not show large spatial continuity and are strongly conditioned by structural conditions such as anticlines and fluid migration pathways,including deep fault,gas chimney,and high-permeable sedimentary layer.Our results may help to assess the gas hydrate potential within the piggy-back basins and to determine the most promising target areas.Moreover,results about the abyssal plain BSR may help to locate hydrocarbon reservoirs in the deep ocean.

Narrow-wavelength-spread spectral combining laser with a reflector for a double pass with a single grating

We proposed a novel wavelength-spread compression technique for spectral beam combining of a diode laser array. A reflector, which is parallel to the grating, is introduced to achieve a double pass with a single grating.This facilitated the reduction of the wavelength spread by half and doubled the number of combined elements in the gain range of the diode laser. We achieved a power of 26.1 W under continuous wave operation using a19 element single bar with a wavelength spread of 6.3 nm, which is nearly half of the original wavelength spread of 14.2 nm, demonstrating the double-compressed spectrum capability of this structure. The spectral beam combining efficiency was 63.7%. The grating efficiency and reflector reflectance were both over 95%; hence, the efficiency loss of the double-pass grating with a reflector is acceptable. In contrast to double-grating methods,the proposed method introduces a reflector that efficiently uses the single grating and shows significant potential for a more efficient spectral beam combining of diode laser arrays.